ACTION COMICS #692 - October 1993

And, Who, Disguised as Clark Kent?

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Karl Kesel (co-plotter), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Albert de Guzman (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  In front of a news crew, Superman saves Clark Kent from a pile of debris.  Clark explains that he’s stayed in the building’s civil defense shelter while waiting to be rescued.  Superman flies through the city, encountering Lex Luthor in his helicopter.  Lex demands to know where Supergirl has been, but Superman refuses to answer.  Later, at Clark’s home, “Clark” morphs into Supergirl.  Superman and Lois thank her for her help and then embrace.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• According to the news report, Doomsday’s rampage was only a little over a month ago.  Think of all of the Superman stories that have been crammed into that timeline!
• The news report also leaves Eradicator’s fate ambiguous, even though the previous chapter seemed like a clear death scene to me.

Production Note:  The Return of Superman trade only reprints eleven pages of this issue.  It’s placed in the back as an “epilogue.”

Review:  It’s not hard to guess why this portion of the story has been reprinted -- the reader needs to know how exactly Clark Kent explains his absence during Superman’s “death.”  The explanation is perfectly reasonable within the context of this era’s continuity, although I wonder now how DC explains this away in the re-re-revised canon.  (Surely Supergirl was never a shapeshifting pile of goo in the current continuity.)  With this dangling tidbit addressed, that closes out the Death and Return of Superman epic.

On a basic level, it’s hard not to view the entire stunt as a success.  It brought more attention to the titles (more than DC could’ve ever expected), increased sales, and enabled DC to compete against the birth of Image Comics and the increasing expansion of Marvel’s X-titles.  Marrying Superman and Lois off would’ve caused a blip in sales and a smidgen of publicity, but killing him off, duping the audience with four possible replacements, and finally reviving him kept attention focused on the books for almost two years.

Creatively, the storyline has a few problems.  The initial point the story tries to prove, that Superman is a true hero that will endure past any fad, seems to fade in and out as the months continue.  A few characters learn lessons about true heroism over the course of the event, but the stories seem more and more concerned with gigantic fight scenes than making any metatextual statement about the public’s perception of heroism.  And those closing issues, the big fight scene that draws all of the characters together, seem to drag on forever.  It’s a shame that the creators couldn’t have devised a more satisfying conclusion to the event, rather than stranding the reader on Engine City for what feels like an eternity.  If you want to see Superman fight Doomsday, his actual killer, in a rematch, then you’re out of luck.  That comes later, in a different set of higher-priced bookshelf format specials.  It’s the ‘90s, folks.

Following the resurrection, DC felt obligated to indicate that not everything has returned to the old status quo.  You can’t take your flagship character and put him through this kind of experience without some acknowledgment of what he’s endured, right?  So, now Superman has a mullet.  And Clark Kent has a ponytail.  What can you even say?  I can understand the creators’ desire to return to a more traditional Superman, with only a small cosmetic change thrown in, but it seems like a wasted opportunity.  If you’re ever going to redesign Superman’s costume, this is the time to do it.  Why couldn’t he keep the black and silver look?  Who’s to say he even needed to return as Clark Kent?  For that matter, why is Superman even returning before the next big anniversary issue (Action #700)?  Even after the gimmick of which Superman is the real one has been exhausted, I think Supergirl, Superboy, and Steel could be able to carry the titles for around a year.  Why create a massive marketing event around Superman’s death, but only leave him dead for one month in the timeline?  Why couldn’t Superman return to a very different Metropolis?

Despite my gripes, I have to say there has been a level of, at the very least, professionalism throughout the event.  The Superman titles never reach the nadir of the Azrael solo stories the audience had to endure during “Knightfall,” and we should all thank the heavens for that.  It’s obvious the creators have genuine affection for the Man of Steel, and even if it’s easy to view the event as a cynical stunt, I think there was a sincere effort all along to tell an entertaining story.  There seems to be a decent amount of nostalgia for this era of Superman, and I have to acknowledge that most of these stories have aged pretty well.  Trust me, as far as ‘90s gimmick storylines go, the audience dodged a bullet on this one.

ACTION COMICS #691 - September 1993

Secret Weapon

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Superman and Steel continue to fight against Mongul and the Cyborg’s foot soldiers.  During a break in the fighting, Superman reveals that Supergirl has been aiding them the entire time in her invisible form.  However, she’s soon separated from the others during their search for Engine City’s power supply.  Mongul declares to his personal followers that he isn’t taking orders from Cyborg Superman any longer.  He orders them to start the kryptonite-powered engine, which will destroy the Earth.  Meanwhile, Lex Luthor discovers a semi-conscious Superboy, who’s fallen in a landfill after stopping the Engine Bomb.  He’s furious that Superboy doesn’t know where Supergirl is.  Elsewhere, Eradicator absorbs the Fortress’ energy, nearly destroying it, so that he has the power to return to the fight.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Superman says he hasn’t felt this vulnerable since Mxyzptlk cancelled out his powers.  A footnote points to Superman #49.

Mom, Apple Pie, etc…:  A series of narrative captions explains that Eradicator didn’t understand the concept of humanity, of complex ways of thinking and feeling, until taking on the form of Superman.

Review:  Apparently, we needed yet another chapter of this Engine City fight.  To his credit, Roger Stern breaks up some of the monotony by throwing in Supergirl’s surprise appearance, and he’s able to portray Superman’s use of machine guns in way that doesn’t feel like gratuitous shock value.  The action isn’t necessarily bad, it just feels redundant at this point.  There are only so many pages of Superman and Steel plowing through armies of alien goons that I’m willing to tolerate.  The only real plot advancement comes from Mongul’s decision to turn on Cyborg Superman, which has been telegraphed for what feels like six months now.  The rest of the issue consists of getting the remaining cast members in place for the big finale, which would be a welcome relief right about now; however, it’s still a few issues away.  I understand that this story was inevitably going to end with all four replacement Supermen and Superman, along with Supergirl, gathered together for a big fight...but honestly, I was expecting something a bit more creative than this.

ACTION COMICS #690 - August 1993

Lies & Revelations

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Cyborg Superman places Superboy in restraints so that he can be studied.  In order to get rid of the Justice League, Cyborg Superman sends them on a fraudulent mission in space.  Superboy overhears the Cyborg and Mongul’s plans to create a second “Engine City” in Metropolis and vows to escape.  Meanwhile, a weakened Eradicator reaches the Fortress of Solitude.  He discovers the regeneration matrix is empty, and the Fortress robots reveal his true identity.  The actual Superman has already been released from the matrix and is heading towards Metropolis in a Kryptonian war-suit.  In Metropolis, Lois tells the authorities that she believes Cyborg Superman is a fraud.

Irrelevant Continuity:  The origin of Eradicator is revealed.  The basic idea is that he’s a Kryptonian artificial intelligence that has gained sentience.  His consciousness lived inside the Fortress and, following the “death” of Superman, sought to steal his body.  Superman’s consciousness fought against him, however, leaving Eradicator to somehow use the mass inside the coffin to form his own faux-Superman body.

Total N00B:  The cutaways to the Justice League emphasize that Jade is Alan Scott’s daughter.  I have a vague idea of who Jade is but I’ve never heard of this before.

Review:  The mysteries surrounding “The Last Son of Krypton” (or “Visor Superman”) are resolved, in what I’m just going to assume was a satisfying payoff for regular readers of the Superman titles.  I’ve never read the original Eradicator storyline, so it’s not as if I could’ve seen this coming, but it seems as if Roger Stern has put a lot of thought into this and placed a decent number of clues in Action over the past few months.  Since Eradicator was designed as a weapons system, it seems logical that his response to crime would be lethal, and adopting the moniker “Last Son of Krypton” does make sense given his origin.  The specific details of what happened “behind the scenes” in Action #687 are revealed, showing us how what we assumed was Superman retaking his body was anything but, so Stern is playing fair with the reader.  Stern’s setting up the idea that Eradicator actually wants to follow Superman’s example now, which I guess is going to lead to a dramatic redemptive moment later on.  Some of this is fairly predictable, but the execution is compelling enough to fend off any real boredom.  And the cutaway to Superman, the real one, this issue is actually the dramatic slow-reveal that I assumed was going to happen last issue. Reading it now the sequence feels odd -- why does he get a slow reveal after already returning last month? -- but now that I understand the proper context (Stern wanted the readers to think that Superman was the Eradicator last issue), this makes sense.

ACTION COMICS #689 - August 1993

Who is the Hero True?

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Superboy and Supergirl unite to rescue the citizens on Hobsneck Bridge, but Lex is furious to discover that Superboy has signed a deal with Rex Leech.  Meanwhile, in the Fortress of Solitude, Superman awakens from his regeneration matrix.  After the Fortress’ robots show him news reports of the four new Supermen, he declares that he’s going to Metropolis as soon as possible.  In Metropolis, Steel and Eradicator get into a brawl after Steel accuses Eradicator of manslaughter.  Eradicator flies Steel into orbit, forcing him to leap off and rely on his boot-jets to reach Earth.  Before he lands, Eradicator dive-bombs him.  In deeper space, Mongul approaches Earth.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• The Kents are irritated by news coverage of the new Supermen, and for Supergirl for siding with Lex Luthor.  According to the footnotes, they took in Supergirl in Superman #22, and she “ran off” in Action #644.
• When Superman emerges from his regeneration matrix, he does not have long hair.

Review:  Wait a minute…this is how Superman returns?  In a docile subplot scene tucked into the middle of a seemingly random issue?  No giant splash page, no lengthy buildup, no breathless purple prose…he just wakes up inside his pod and decides it’s time to come back?  That’s insane.  I’m tempted to believe that there’s a chapter missing in the reprint collection, yet these Superman trades have been pretty good about reprinting almost all of the material, and it’s hard to imagine why a scene building up to this one would’ve been skipped.  It’s amazing to think that the “Reign of Supermen” era was so short (it’s painfully obvious by now that none of these “heroes” is truly Superman); my memory as a kid was that the four Supermen gimmick lasted for several months.  It’s a shock to realize that it barely lasted for two full months, and that the mystery was dismissed so casually.

Ignoring Superman’s totally blasé resurrection, what else is going on this issue?  The cliffhanger from Adventures is resolved, a few subplots are touched upon, Eradicator and Steel get into a pointless fight, and there’s a cliffhanger set up for the next chapter in Man of Steel.  In a way, it feels like a busy issue, even though most of these threads aren't particularly exciting.  There’s a cute bit that has Eradicator and Steel getting served by a process server because Rex Leech has already copyrighted the Superman emblem, but the rest of the issue is fairly dull.  The Return of Superman should’ve livened things up, but the bizarre execution of that scene is shocking in how utterly non-dramatic it is.  It’s truly a strange issue; I wonder what was going on behind the scenes at this point.

ACTION COMICS #688 - July 1993

An Eye for an Eye

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (artists), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Annoyed by the emergence of four new Supermen, Guy Gardner decides to prove them as frauds.  He first targets the Eradicator, who’s recently broken all of the bones in a thief’s hand.  Guy and the Eradicator fight, and Guy is stunned at Eradicator’s strength.  When Guy witnesses the Eradicator’s ruthless treatment of the Dragon street gang, he decides he supports this Superman.  Guy publicly gives his endorsement of Eradicator, which unnerves him.  Meanwhile, Maggie Sawyer is promoted to Inspector.  At a press conference, she promises to apprehend the new, lethal Superman.

Review:  I assumed the Eradicator stories would focus on him acting like the Punisher in an updated version of Superman’s costume, but Stern is instead going in a more traditional direction.  This issue is largely a slugfest between Guy Gardner and Eradicator with a few brief acknowledgments of the ongoing subplots thrown in.  There’s little here to differentiate this from any other brawl that might occur between Guy and Superman, just a different justification for why they’re fighting for eighteen pages.  It is amusing that Guy Gardner gives his public endorsement to one of the Supermen that turns out to be a villain, but of course the story’s going out of its way to make Guy Gardner look bad.  I’m not familiar enough with DC continuity to know how Guy should be written, if he’s supposed to be a likable grouch like Jonah Jameson or just a caricature of what the creators think a “Joe Six-Pack” hero would be, but I accept that he’s supposed to be the jerk of the DC Universe.  He’s not particularly entertaining in this issue, however, leading me to believe that he either works best within the context of a Justice League story or that Stern doesn’t have the best grasp on the character.  Guy serves his purpose as a punching bag, yes, but I don’t see any real reason for him to be the focus for so much of the issue.

ACTION COMICS #687 - June 1993

Born Again

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (artists), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  A being made of energy emerges inside the Fortress of Solitude.  After learning of Superman’s death, he travels to Superman’s memorial in Metropolis.  The being possesses the body, although his eyes are now sensitive to the sun.  Donning a pair of sunglasses and a new costume made by the robots inside the Fortress of Solitude, he returns to Metropolis to fight crime as the new Superman.  Lois Lane confronts him, and is shocked by his cold demeanor.  The new Superman remembers Clark’s dual identity, but tells Lois that only Superman remains.  Meanwhile, Bibbo decides to continue Superman’s legacy, while Supergirl questions why Lex hasn’t informed her of the new Superman.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• This new Superman, a.k.a. the "Last Son of Krypton," is later identified as the Eradicator.  Aside from a lethal attitude, he possesses the ability to shoot energy beams from his hands.
• Lex mentions that four people dubbed “Superman” by the media have debuted in recent days.  The continuity of where these stories are taking place in relation to one another becomes less clear in future chapters.

Gimmicks:   Every Superman title this month has a newsstand and a direct-only cover.  The direct-only editions have die-cut, cardstock covers and it seems both versions have fold-out posters inside.

Review:  Well, I guess the mystery of which Superman is the real one is already resolved, right?  This is clearly Superman -- he remembers the dual identity, his spirit has reemerged after “a battle” right inside the Fortress of Solitude, and he’s able to float right into Superman’s casket and take possession of the body.  Yeah, he’s killing people left and right, but it’s the ‘90s and that’s what a hero has to do these days.  His brain’s a little frazzled after the near-death experience, so he’s still figuring some things out; maybe he’ll stop frying people after he gets a better sense of his self, but it’s cool to see Superman act like the Punisher now, right?  And thank God those awful undies on the outside are gone now!  This is the Superman of the ‘90s, folks!

Now, obviously, Roger Stern is doing all of this to make a point.  Not every new Superman turns into a lecture on what Superman isn’t supposed to be, but using one of the titles to explore a fake Superman as the stereotypical Chromium Age vigilante is a legitimate choice in my eyes.  One of the reasons why this storyline was approved in the first place was to make the audience of the time more appreciative of what makes Superman unique, so it’s easy to see what they’re going for.  This is all rendered irrelevant in the days of the New 52 and Man of Steel, of course, but it’s a nice flashback to a time when DC was honestly protective of what Superman is supposed to represent.  I do question giving Superman Cyclops glasses, though.  If the goal is to make this Superman more stylized and (I’m assuming) Image-esque, I don’t see how those big dorky glasses are supposed to work.  He should’ve had a cowl with Wolverine ears, of course.

ACTION COMICS #686 - February 1993

 

Who’s Buried in Superman’s Tomb?

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (artists), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  The Guardian patrols Metropolis after receiving time-off from Cadmus.  Dubbilex mentally contacts him, telling Guardian to return to Cadmus immediately.  Guardian discovers that Paul Westfield has stolen Superman’s body and is planning to clone it.  Guardian is indignant, but eventually realizes that the plan could have merit.  Meanwhile, Lex Luthor joins Supergirl and the Metropolis Police in investigating the tunnels underneath Superman’s tomb.  A bomb left by Cadmus floods the tunnel, but Supergirl rescues her companions.  Both Luthor and Maggie Sawyer suspect Cadmus stole Superman’s body.  Elsewhere, Lois sees the Kents and Lana off at the airport.

Irrelevant Continuity:

• Dubbilex absorbed "mental impressions" from Superman in Superman #58 and Adventures #485.  Cadmus plans to use Dubbilex’s powers to recreate Superman’s personality.
• A Superman cult appears outside of his memorial.  A footnote says they previously appeared in Action #638.
• Maggie Sawyer had a prior encounter with Cadmus in Superman #34.
• Dr. Teng, “terminated” by Luthor in Action #678, used Cadmus’ data to create a new body for Luthor.  Luthor says he’ll have to find someone else to infiltrate Cadmus.
• A news report lists 189 confirmed casualties in the Doomsday assault, with nearly 900 still missing.

I Love the ‘90s:  Guardian’s high-tech motorcycle records a laser disc of his fight against a group of car thieves.

Total N00B:  This is the first story in the Death of Superman and World without a Superman trades to reveal that Lex Luthor, Jr. is actually Lex Luthor in a younger, cloned body.  I also discovered this issue that former Cadmus head Dabney Donovan created the Underworlders. 

Review:  This is the unofficial Tribute to Jack Kirby issue, featuring several characters he created for DC that were eventually grafted on to the Superman mythos.  Roger Stern is legendary for his knowledge of continuity, and this issue he manages to merge the Kirby material with numerous post-Crisis Superman storylines, all in logical and occasionally provocative ways.  Stern also has fun giving “Terrible” Dan Turpin an excessive amount of quotation marks in his dialogue, a reference to one of Kirby’s oddest scripting quirks.  Most readers today would probably get the joke, but I wonder now what the average fan in 1993 thought of this.

Guardian receives much of the attention this issue, serving as yet another Superman replacement on the streets of Metropolis, before getting dragged into the drama surrounding Superman’s stolen corpse.  Guardian’s initial disgust at Cadmus’ actions is minimized when he realizes that Paul Westfield’s plan isn’t too different from what happened to his own body.  How could a man whose life has been extended through cloning object to Superman getting the same opportunity?  This is Superman, after all, so how could he possibly argue that the world doesn’t need him to return?  Speaking of cloning, Lex Luthor has his own ties to Cadmus’ work, and he’s certainly smart enough to deduce what their plan is.  Tying up last issue’s Supergirl plot could’ve been time-killer, but Stern uses Luthor in a clever way to add some intrigue to the larger storyline.

Jackson Guice and Denis Rodier are also channeling Kirby, although it’s a strange direction for the duo to suddenly explore.  Their previous issues seemed to be an early experiment in incorporating photorealism into superhero art, and now they’re throwing Kirby into the mix.  There’s really no way to do realistic Kirby, post-1970 Kirby at least, so visually the issue doesn’t seem to have any real consistency.  Some pages are very Kirby, but the style quickly swerves back the other way in just a few panels.  I’m personally not a fan of most “realistic” superhero work, so my favorite pages are the more traditional action pages.  When the issue is supposed to evoke Kirby, such as the double-page Guardian spread, that’s what this book should look like every issue.

ACTION COMICS #685 - January 1993

 

Re: Actions

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Westfield wants Superman’s body for study at Cadmus’ headquarters, but he faces resistance from the Metropolis police.  Lex Luthor sends Supergirl and Team Luthor to the city morgue to stop the conflict.  Soon, Luthor and Mayor Berkowitz arrive with an order from the President, declaring that Superman will have a proper burial in Metropolis.  As the world reacts to news of Superman’s death, Supergirl patrols Metropolis and stops a robbery.  That night, Bibbo closes his bar and reflects on why he’s alive while Superman is dead. 

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• Guardian remarks that Westfield has held a grudge against Superman since Superman #58.  Jimmy remembers Lois named Superman in Man of Steel #1.  Citizens rescued by Superman in the past reflect on the events of Action Comics Annual #1 and Superman #27.
• In Adventures #498’s final page, Jimmy walks Lois home.  This chapter presents the same scene, although much of the dialogue doesn’t match, and Lois actually refuses to let Jimmy walk her home.

Total N00B:  Guardian says that Westfield’s actions are the kind of “lunatic stunt” that Dabney Donovan would’ve pulled.  We all know what a nut that Dabney Donovan was, right?

Review:  This issue is far more focused on mourning than the previous chapter, although the plot still leaves room for numerous action sequences.  The issue opens with a standoff with Cadmus agents, goes quiet for a few pages while everyone reflects on Superman’s passing, then returns to the action when Supergirl takes over Superman’s patrol over Metropolis.  The twist is that her lover (?) and employer Lex Luthor, Jr. is actually using her for publicity purposes.  Luthor’s furious that someone else killed Superman, but he’s willing to accept the adulation that comes with being “chief mourner” and the person behind Metropolis’ new protector.  That’s not a bad concept to explore, and the prospect of Supergirl taking over this title also have potential.  It turns out to be a brief gimmick, however, as Supergirl is pushed aside in favor of the “Who’s the Real Superman?” mystery in just a few issues.  Stern does a credible job of showing how Superman’s death is affecting Metropolis, giving the point of view of everyone from the average citizen to some of the supervillains he’s faced over the years.  It’s thorough in a way I’d expect Roger Stern to handle such an event; not overly sentimental, but thoughtful enough to do what the story needs to do.  

 

ACTION COMICS #684 - December 1992

…Doomsday is Near!

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice (penciler), Denis Rodier (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  While Guardian takes Maxima to the hospital, Superman pursues Doomsday.  Eventually, Doomsday terrorizes a Lex-Mart department store.  A television advertisement inspires him to head towards Metropolis.  Superman throws Doomsday into the air, inadvertently sending him to the Habitat, near the headquarters of Project Cadmus.  Guardian arrives to help, but is soon buried under the debris of Habitat, along with Superman.  Doomsday leaps closer to Metropolis.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• Habitat is the wooden structure Jack Kirby introduced in his early Jimmy Olsen issues.  It’s been abandoned at this point, with a footnote pointing towards Superman’s last adventure there in Action Comics #655.
• Lex-Mart is a play on Walmart and K-Mart; Lex Luthor at this point in continuity is a businessman with varied interests.
• News reports place Doomsday’s casualties at over a hundred.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  Roger Stern has Superman throw “hell” and “damn” around pretty casually. 

Total N00B:  This issue makes clear that Guardian is an employee of Cadmus, which performs scientific research in the outskirts of Metropolis.  The redheaded Lex Luthor is also identified as the son of the original, although I believe it’s a lie he uses to cover that he’s Lex in a cloned body.

Review:  We’re retreading material we’ve already seen before, right down to Lex Luthor (Jr.) and Supergirl having the same conversation they had in the previous chapter. To Stern’s credit, he’s better than some of his contemporaries at actually introducing the various cast members and giving new readers some information about them, but it’s hard not to notice how repetitive this story’s getting.  In terms of the action, the only variation from the issues-long slugfest comes when Superman finally decides to just pick Doomsday up and throw him away.  People have often cited this as a major failing of their extended fight scene, arguing that Superman should’ve just been able to throw Doomsday into orbit.  I’m not sure if post-Crisis Superman is that powerful at this point, however, and Stern does do a decent job of showing how problematic this approach can be.  (What exactly is he going to be throwing Doomsday into?)  Superman should, however, be able to use his heat vision and freeze vision in some creative ways in the fight.  I’m assuming he still had those powers post-Crisis, right?  Instead, it’s punch punch punch punch, toss you away, and punch punch punch punch you again.  The Justice League animated series had the best take on this fight when an alternate-reality Superman ends the conflict by giving Doomsday a lobotomy, courtesy of his heat vision.  I would love to see something that imaginative in this story, but instead it’s page after page of punches. 

Even though the fight is getting tired, this issue does have one of my favorite moments of the storyline.  Why does Doomsday choose Metropolis as his ultimate destination?  Because a wrestler he saw on television, directly speaking into the camera, boasts that he’s “takin’ on” everybody at the Metropolis Arena this weekend.  Doomsday grunts out “Mhh-trr-plss?” as his response and promptly begins bouncing his way to Metropolis.  Now, this is either a subtle hint that Doomsday is smart enough to read road signs or a flagrant disregard for common sense, but it’s actually funny and a welcome break from the monotony.